National Semiconductor has entered the photovoltaic market with new technology designed to increase the overall energy output of solar electric power generating systems.

National’s SolarMagic technology extracts the maximum power efficiency of each photovoltaic panel, even when some panels in the array are compromised by shading, debris or inherent panel-to-panel mismatch.

The company says solar installations today are disproportionately impacted by non-uniformities, caused by shading, panel mismatches or dirt accumulation. For example, a small amount of shading in the array can cut the energy harvest of a system in half. This significantly limits the energy output, design and location of typical residential solar installations. Shading conditions can even invalidate local utility and governmental incentives, making certain installations cost-prohibitive.

SolarMagic technology recoups up to 50 per cent of the lost energy thereby minimising the economic impact of shading and other real-world conditions. It is a per-panel electronics solution that maximises power output of multi-panel installations. It is compatible with today’s solar architectures regardless of the underlying solar cell technology.

REgrid Power Inc has begun system testing of National’s SolarMagic technology. Several additional solar companies are slated to join the field trials over the next several months, and National will expand field trials to include installers in other countries with high adoption rates of solar.

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